Im in the middle of ordering for a 120v e-kettle. what should i get for the element and what is the best way to put it in the kettle and how(10g kettle).As well can anyone help with a wire schematic for a single pid with fuses(and what size) switches for main power and to insure the element is off. i am in a apartment and will use this in conjunction with the stove.I do understand how to wire it, just not sure about the best way and what fuses and switches and lights to get. anything would help. been reading for weeks and cant find what im looking for. Im sure you guys can point me the right way.

Is there any other way of going about it without spending a few pretty pennys on tools. Plus having a hard time finding a locking panel mount 120v receptacle or is this needed. I'm lost there is to many different threads and post. As well p-j if ur out there anyway u can help with the wiring for 120v

I'm just finishing up my 120v build right now (2 elements in the kettle, run off of 2 separate circuits), and both threads have been a great help for me.

EDIT: oh, and you don't need a locking panel mount receptacle. You can just use a basic 15a/20a (depending on your build) receptacle. There are lots of ways to go cheaper here. Also search - a lot of people have asked similar questions to yours and P-J has posted a number of simple wiring schematics.

I'd start by making sure eKettle with PID control is what you really want for you task.

10 gallon kettle, I'm sure your goal is 5 gallon batches. At 120V, household circuits will limit you to a 2000W element. To be available to run on *any* household circuit, you would need to knock that down to 1500W (run on a 15A circuit). Your kitchen should have 20A (can run the 2000W) circuit(s) but they may not have the right 20A outlets in place for those.

My eKettle is 3000W and it just barely has enough power to get a boil going. You'll be at least 1000W short of that, so you'll need the stove on full-time. Once the stove is going full-time, the attraction of being able to "dial in your boil" using the PID is largely gone - you can just adjust the stove. You're also worrying about protecting the element housing/cord from the stove itself.

I'm all for projects, and would love to help you do this one safely, but I'm wondering if you wouldn't like a 1500W or 2000W heat stick more than a stove-assist ekettle. You could build a nice one with an on/off switch (or even PMW if you want some control - scope out a few recent threads on the topic) for a pretty good price. I loved having one...little extra heat for the mash tun here, little boost for our turkey fryer burner over there.

To answer some of the questions you actually asked-
Fuses aren't really important, but I incorporated a few choice ones sourced from Radio Shack. It's incredible, but they do still sell this stuff. You just put them inline before whatever you're trying to protect.Fuse HolderFuses - Fast acting is what you're looking for if you want to, for example, protect your PID. Check the specs on your particular device, but 0.5A or so should be fine, if it's blowing the fuse in normal operation just bump up in size slightly.

Big spending on tools is also not required. While the punch tools are nice, I'm sure, by being careful and going slowly, we put 5 holes in my stainless steel kettle with a step bit without incident.

I just setup my kettle for my 2P-Twent-E brewery (Like the Simple linked above, check my sig line). On this setup I am using silver solder for all my conenctions. I don't have pics up yet, but if you look through the thread in DYI you can see tons. Silver soldering on the element nut (ordered from Derrin at homebrewershardware) is by far the best option I have used or seen so far. It is pro looking and very nice to operate.

I agree with dflipse. I built a keggle with 2x 1500w elements, and it does take more time than I'd like to heat/boil water. I did go this route so I can plug it into any two different circuits. And to rant more, I wish I didn't use a keggle for it. I need about 4 gallons of liquid just to cover the elements. totally eliminates it from doing half batches.

Why the PID? Are you planning on recirculating back to an MLT? For a simple electric assist kettle, just direct wire a 1650W (for 15A service) or 2000W (20A service) element and use the stove control to regulate your boil.

Got a question. I am like i said in an older apartment. I have a 20 amp breaker thats hooked up to the garbage disposal and 3 outlets. one happens to be in the eating area were my kegerator lives. and the other two are in the kitchen. anyway can i hookup a 1500 w element to that breaker with the fridge plugged in? (the mini-fridge is rated at 1.5 amps) thanks for the help guys...and about the pid...
i am building a house that i will be in next year and want to plan ahead. with the pid i should be able to use it down the road when 240v is available.(i have 3 1/2 kegs for down the road.this will b made with my old 10g brew kettle) the thought here was i could still know my temps, so maybe the idea would be to do manual mode at 100% and control with the stove. just a thought. if anyone has a better way of doing things please let me know.